Hymns of the Atharva-Veda — SBE Vol. 42 (Clarendon Press, 1897) — second scan

9. Prayer for glory (yasas).

1. The oblation that yields glory, sped on by Indra, of thousandfold strength, well offered, prepared with might, shall prosper! Cause me, that offers the oblation, to continue long beholding (light), and to rise to supremacy!

2. (That he may come) to us, let us honour with obeisance glory-owning Indra, the glorious one with glory-yielding (oblations) ! Do thou (the oblation) grant us sovereignty sped on by Indra ; may we in thy favour be glorious !

3. Glorious was Indra born, glorious Agni, glorious
Soma. Glorious, of all beings the most glorious,
am I.

VIII, 8. Battle-charm.

1. May Indra churn (the enemy), he, the churner, .Sakra (mighty), the hero, that pierces the forts, so that we shall slay the armies of the enemies a thousandfold !

2. May the rotten rope, wafting itself against yonder army, turn it into a stench. When the enemies see from afar our smoke and fire, fear shall they lay into their hearts !

3. Tear asunder those (enemies), O ai'vattha

Il8 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

(ficus religiosa), devour (khada) them, O khadira (acacia catechu) in lively style! Like the ta£*adbhanga (ricinus communis) they shall be broken (bha^yantam), may the vadhaka (a certain kind of tree) slay them with his weapons (vadhai^) !

4. May the knotty ahva-plant put knots upon yonder (enemies), may the vadhaka slay them with his weapons! Bound up in (our) great trap-net, they shall quickly be broken as an arrow-reed !

5. The atmosphere was the net, the great regions (of space) the (supporting) poles of the net : with these £akra (mighty Indra) did surround and scatter the army of the Dasyus.

6. Great, forsooth, is the net of great vSakra, who is rich in steeds : with it infold thou all the enemies, so that not one of them shall be released !

7. Great is the net of thee, great Indra, hero, that art equal to a thousand, and hast hundredfold might. With that (net) Sakra slew a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million foes, having surrounded them with (his) army.

8. This great world was the net of great .Sakra : with this net of Indra I infold all those (enemies) yonder in darkness.

9. With great dejection, failure, and irrefragable misfortune ; with fatigue, lassitude, and confusion, do I surround all those (enemies) yonder.

10. To death do I hand them over, with the fetters of death they have been bound. To the evil messengers of death do I lead them captive.

1 1.

lure, and irrefragable misfortune ; with fatigue, lassitude, and confusion, do I surround all those (enemies) yonder.

10. To death do I hand them over, with the fetters of death they have been bound. To the evil messengers of death do I lead them captive.

1 1. Guide ye those (foes), ye messengers of death; ye messengers of Yama, infold them ! Let more than thousands be slain; may the club of Bhava crush them !

V. CHARMS PERTAINING TO ROYALTY. II9

12. The Sâdhyas (blessed) go holding up with might one support of the net, the Rudras another, the Vasus another. (Still) another is upheld by the Adityas.

13. All the gods shall go pressing from above with might ; the Angiras shall go on the middle (of the net), slaying the mighty army !

14. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well ; two-footed and four-footed creatures do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army !

15. The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents and the gods, holy men and (deceased) Fathers, the visible and invisible (beings), do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army !

16. Scattered here are the fetters of death ; when thou steppest upon them thou shalt not escape! May this hammer slay (the men) of yonder army by the thousand !

17. The gharma (sacrificial hot drink) that has been heated by the fire, this sacrifice (shall) slay thousands ! Do ye, Bhava and .Sarva, whose arms are mottled, slay yonder army !

18. Into the (snare of) death they shall fall, into hunger, exhaustion, slaughter, and fear ! O Indra and 6arva, do ye with trap and net slay yonder army !

1 9. Conquered, O foes, do ye flee away ; repelled by (our) charm, do ye run ! Of yonder host, repulsed by Brzhaspati, not one shall be saved !

20. May their wreapons fall from their (hands), may they be unable to lay the arrow on (the bow) ! And then (our) arrows shall smite them, badly frightened, in their vital members !

21. Heaven and earth shall shriek at them, andp. 120 the atmosphere, along with the divine powers ! Neither aider, nor support did they find; smiting one another they shall go to death !

22. The four regions are the she-mules of the god's chariot, the puroaâras (sacrificial rice-cakes) the hoofs, the atmosphere the seat (of the wagon). Heaven and earth are its two sides, the seasons the reins, the intermediate regions the attendants, Vâk (speech) the road.

23. The year is the chariot, the full year is the body of the chariot, Virag" the pole, Agni the front part of the chariot.

the wagon). Heaven and earth are its two sides, the seasons the reins, the intermediate regions the attendants, Vâk (speech) the road.

23. The year is the chariot, the full year is the body of the chariot, Virag" the pole, Agni the front part of the chariot. Indra is the (combatant) standing on the left of the chariot, Aandramas (the moon) the charioteer.

24. Do thou win here, do thou conquer here, overcome, win, hail ! These here shall conquer, those yonder be conquered! Hail to these here, perdition to those yonder! Those yonder do I envelop in blue and red !

I, 19. Battle-charm against arrow-wounds.

1. The piercing (arrows) shall not hit us, nor shall the striking arrows hit us ! Far away from us, O Indra, to either side, cause the arrow-shower to fall !

2. To either side of us the arrows shall fall, those that have been shot and shall be shot ! Ye divine and ye human arrows, pierce ye mine enemies !

3. Be he our own, or be he strange, the kinsman, or the foreigner, who bear enmity towards us, those enemies of mine Rudra shall pierce with a shower of arrows !

4. Him that rivals us, or does not rival us, himp. 121 that curses us with hate, may all the gods injure : my charm protects me from within !

Ill, i. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.

i. Agni shall skilfully march against our opponents, burning against their schemes and hostile plans ; Gatavedas shall confuse the army of our opponents and deprive them (of the use) of their hands !

2. Ye Maruts are mighty in such matters : advance ye, crush ye, conquer ye (the enemy) ! These Vasus when implored did crush (them). Agni, verily, as their vanguard shall skilfully attack !

3. O Maghavan, the hostile army which contends against us — do ye, O Indra, Wztra's slayer, and Agni, burn against them !

4. Thy thunderbolt, O Indra, who hast been driven forward swiftly by thy two bay steeds, shall advance, crushing the enemies. Slay them that resist, pursue, or flee, deprive their schemes of fulfilment !

5. O Indra, confuse the army of the enemy; with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter them to either side !

6. Indra shall confuse the army, the Maruts shall slay it with might ! Agni shall rob it of its sight ; vanquished it shall turn about !

Ill, 2. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.

1. Agni, our skilful vanguard, shall attack, burning against their schemes and hostile plans ! Gatavedas shall bewilder the plans of the enemy, and deprive them (of the use) of their hands !

2.